Automatic ampoule sealer



Uec. 2Q, 1949 PISZEL 2,491,762

AUTOMATIC AMPOULE SEALER Filed Oct. 9, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet l Dec, 2U,1941-9 PlSZEL 2,491,762

AUTOMATI C AMPOULE SEALER Filed 001;. 9, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m dflea/$2 1526 Z.

Im'mtor A. F. PISZEL ec. 2Q, 1949 AUTOMATIC AMPOULE SEALER 3Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 9, 1946 N W W Patented ec. 20, 19 49 lTEDSTATES PATET OFFICE.

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in automatic ampule sealers.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved automatic ampulesealer which will include a rotatable table top or drive disk formedwith a plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed ampule receivingopenings and a synchronized ampule tip pinching or sealing mechanism,together with means for automatically rotating the ampules while theirtips are being heated to a molten state immediately prior to thepinching or sealing operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved automaticampule sealer having a driving motor and connected gear reductionmechanism for rotating a table top or drive disk formed with a pluralityof spaced circumferentially disposed ampule receiving openings and asynchronized ampule tip pinching or sealing mechanism, together withmeans for automatically rotating the ampules while their tips are beingheated to a molten state by passing through the flame from a ribbonburner immediately prior to the pinching or sealing operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved automaticampule sealer having a gear reduction driving means for operating arotatable table top or drive disk formed with a plurality of spacedcircumferentially disposed ampule receiving openings and a synchronizedampule tip pinching or sealing mechanism being radially and verticallyadjustable with respect to said table top or drive disk for pinching orsealing various sizes of ampules, together with means for automaticallyrotating the ampules in their openings in said table top or drive diskwhile their tips are being heated to a molten state by passing throughthe flame from a ribbon burner immediately prior to the pinching orsealing operation, and means for automatically ejecting the ampules fromthe openings in the table top or drive disk after the same have beensealed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved automaticampule sealing mechanism which will be highly efilcient in operation,and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and produce.

Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application,

Figure 1 is a top plan view partly broken away of the improved automaticampule sealer;

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure .l is a partial sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure l is a sectional View taken on the line ll l of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of a portion of the table top or drivedisk; and,

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail View of a glass ampule being sealedbetween the pinching or sealing rolls of the mechanism.

Like characters of reference are used throughout the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings to designate correspondingparts.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a suitable flat tabletop generally denoted by the reference numeral l supported by the angleiron legs 2.

A circular opening 3 is formed through the table top I and cooperateswith the peripheral inwardly extending ampule supporting ledge 4disposed slightly below the level of the upper surface of said table topI.

Angle irons 5 are disposed in spaced relation below said table top l andare suitably attached to and supported by the angle iron legs 2, tosupport the motor supporting base plate 6 which is formed with anupwardly extending bearing flange l at one end thereof.

An electric driving motor 8 is mounted upon the base plate 8 adjacentthe gear reduction mechanism 9, and the pulley it on the motor shaft iiis connected with the pulley IE on the shaft I 3 extending from the gearreduction mechanism by means of the driving belt Id.

The gear reduction mechanism 9 is provided with a tapered drive shaft l5upon which the rotatable ampule supporting table top or drive disk I6 isfixed by means of the washers H and nut Hi, to extend flush with thetable top I.

A plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed ampule receivingopenings l9 are formed through the table top or drive disk It, while aninset depending annular flange Zll is integrally formed on the lowersurface of said drive disk IS, with the intermeshing gears 60 and Bi. 7.163 are threaded on' the upper ends of'the' s'tems its outer surfaceformed to provide a series of spaced vertical semi-circular seats orgrooves 2| in which the ampules 22 will seat when inserted through theopenings i9 in the drive disk IS with their lower ends seating upon thesupporting ledge 4.

The horizontal drive shaft 23 will extend outwardly from the gearreduction mechanism 9, passing through the bearing flange 1 and beingfurther supported in the bearings 24 in the gear box or casing 25supported by one of the angle irons 5. The worm gear 25 will be securedto the drive shaft 23, and will mesh with and drive the gear 2? fixedupon the elongated vertical drive shaft 29 which isrotatably mounted inthebearing 29 on the cover 30 for thel'gear bOX orcasing 25, and in thebearing 3| at the bottom of said gear box or casing 25, the upper end ofsaid shaft 28 extending through an opening 32 in the table top H to apoint well abovethe'siirface of said table top I. h A

A U-shaped bracket 33 is secured to the table top I with its side arms34"'a'nd" 35 extending horizontally and in spaced parallel relation, An

adjusting screw 36 is formed with unthfe'aded ends which extend throughthe arms 34 and 35 "to form bearing for said; screw"36. [The upper endof the screw 36 extends above the upper, side arm 94 and supports theoperating knob or handle 37, While a stop washer 38 is 'se'curedaboutthe screw 36 below the'arm'34 to prevent vertical movement thereof. a a

The U-shaped guide head 39 will be threaded upon the adjusting screw' 35to extend radially toward the center of the table top or drive dis 7 l6and will be adjusted verticallywith respect'to the table top H byrotation 'of theoperati'ng knob or handle 3? in the desired direction.The guide head 39 will be kept from rotation by means of the spacedvertical guide strips'49 and 4f positioned at the opposite 'sides of thebracket 33 and secured to said guide he'ad 39 -by means of the bolts .2and t3. 7 v V v A fixed block 44 will be disposed between the sides ofthe U -shaped guide head 39, and will be vertically apertured to receivethefupper end of the vertical drive shaft'28 "upon which said guide headmoves when being vertically adjusted A gear 45 is keyed to the shaft 28above' 'the block '44' and a stop washer ifijissecured about the shaft23 below said "block '44. The block '44 is slotted as [at 4? to 'permitalateral adjustment of the bolt 99 extending therethrough and the gear 49which is supportedthe'reon' in meshing engagement with the gear 45. I

Oppositely disposed guide slots 50 areformed in the inner surfaces ofthe sides of the U -Shaped guide head 39, and slidably and adjustablysupport the tongues 51 on the opposite sides of the adjusting block 52.An' adjusting screw 53 extends through the outer end of the guide head39 and supports the operating knob or handle 54 on its outer end. A stopwasher 55 is secured'to the screw 53 on the inside of said guide head39, while the inner end of said screw is threaded through said adjustingblock 52, whereby rotation of said handle or knob 54 in one'directionwill advance the block 52 inwardly and rotation of the handleor knob 54 'in theoppo'site direction will move the block 52 outwardly.

"55 and 5? are formed with the stemsss and 59 which extend throughtheblock 52, and support Nuts 62 and 58 and 59 for securing the rollsandgears in their 35 up-on the tips of various sizes 'offampi'iles 10 ordrive disk It in which the ampules 22 are placed, thereby permittingampules of various sizes to be sealed.

An arcuate ribbon burner 54 is formed with spaced apertures (55 throughits inner wall to .permit the .fiaine to be directed inwardly upon T;l1QP .I f. th j'e e 2.2 a they s o ly pass therethrough to heat said tipsto a molten state immediately before they pass between the pinching orsealing rolls. A pipe 59 is connected with a suitable source of gassupply (not shown) and to a .Venturi mixer 67 which in turn isconnected' with the ribbon burner 63. An air inlet pipe 69 isalso'connected with the Venturi mixer Bland valves 59 and 19 areprovided for respec- ""tive'ly' controlling the amount of gas and airentering the Venturi mixer :57.

Brackets 7 i aresecured to itheta ble top j; for adjustably supportingthe 'vertieal'ro'ds'nj whose "upper ends are formed into the bearingeyes; 13 for longitudinally and adj usta'bly supporting the 'iods i iand i5 secured to saidribbon burnerjB4. Set screws i5 and iirespectively hold "or lock-the rods 32 and it in the desired adjustmentffor directing the flame from the ribbonb'urnenfl Theannular' leather orrub'b'er friction is provided with the guidepinsiim an d-coi 89 disposedthereabout, iththe fricti H positioned below the table top ordrivedislilli directly'below said ribbon burner e4, w ereby the sides ofthe ampules will "be engaged y the 'fri ction plate 18 as therotating'drive disksbifing them into contact with said friction mate-t5rotate the ampules afs'their tips'are moved through "the flamefrom" theribbon burner 64. Thegiride pins '19 extend through'theyertic al wallofthe annular ampule'supporting ledge '40. The' ld'ge 4i's cut-out for ashort distance as at 31 at apoint "adjacent to and beyond theampulefpinchingor sealing rolls, so that the sealed ampuleslfmay "dropiIOmthe openings 19in the tabletop or drive disk Ifiand through said'cutout portionfl into a basket or'container, (not shownyplac'ed below saiddischarge orejecting point.

.From the foregoing description, it .willbe a'pparent that the mode ofoperation ;of the'jimproved automatic ampule sealer will be'as'fol-Theele ctric motor is,put into operation by closing a circuit to asuitable source of electrical n no h l ilw ll drive he. ea r ductionmechanism 9, whichin turn will s lgwly vrotate" the drive disk acounter-cleckwise direction; and" will also peerage or drive thepooperating pinching or s eali ng rolls 55 'so t h at wheri'the ampules"which ha e previously' been filled are inserted the openings at aproximately opposite the pinching o mechanism, thesaidariipulesjwillflbe no a counter cloc'kwise direction until their sideTed'ges areen gaged'by the friction plate l8andfat the same time, the tips of theampules will be'pa'ssfed slowly through the flame from the'ribboriburner 64. By the time that the ampules ha've be'en brought tothe end of theribbonburnen' 'thetips '75 thereof will have been heateduntil thefha've reached a molten state, whereupon they are immediatelypassed between the cooperating pinching or sealing rolls 56 and 51 whichwill pinch the tips together and seal the same. After the sealed ampules22 have passed in a counterclockwise direction beyond the pinching orsealing mechanism, they will be brought to a point directly over thecut-out portion Si in the ledge 4, and will drop therethrough from theopenings IS in the drive disk l6 into a suitable collecting basket orcontainer (not shown).

It will be obvious that the heating means and that the friction platemay be adjusted radially with respect to the ampules when placed in thedrive disk 16, and also that the pinching or sealing rolls may beadjusted both vertically and radially with respect to said drive plateIt to efficiently and effectively seal ampules of various sizes.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there has beendevised a highly efficient form of automatic ampule sealing mechanism.

While the preferred embodiment of the instant invention has beenillustrated and described, it will be understood that it is not intendedto limit the scope of the invention thereto, as many minor changes indetail of construction may be resorted to without departure from thespirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An automatic ampule sealing machine comprising a rotarymulti-apertured plate for retainl ing and moving a group of individuallyretained and spaced ampules in a predetermined path, an ampule tipsealing mechanism disposed in close relation with the rotary plate,means for vertically and horizontally adjusting said tip sealingmechanism relative to the plate, a longitudinally and verticallyadjustable burner tube disposed concentric to the plate and terminatingat one side of the sealing mechanism said tube having spaced innerburner openings for heating the tips of the ampules as they are movedtoward the sealing mechanism, resiliently anchored friction means forsuccessively engaging and individually rotating the ampules so that thetips thereof are entirely subjected to the flames from the openings inthe burner tube and means for simultaneously operating said rotary plateand sealing mechanism in synchronism.

2. An automatic ampule sealing machine comprising a. casing, having acircular opening in its top, a rotary drive disk having a plurality ofspaced circumferentially disposed ampule receiving openings formedtherethrough mounted in said opening for moving a plurality of ampulesin a predetermined path, an ampule tip sealing mechanism mounted on saidcasing in overlying relation with said disk and positioned in the pathof travel of the ampules, means for vertically and horizontallyadjusting said sealing mechanism relative to the disk, an arcuate burnertube mounted on the top of said casing and disposed circumjacent to thedisk and terminating at one side of the sealing mechanism, said tubebeing formed with a plurality of lateral openings on the inner Wallthereof for heating the tips of the ampules as they are moved toward thesealing mechanism, reciprocable friction means laterally disposed in thepath of travel of the ampules adjacent said burner tube for successivelyengaging the lower portion of each ampule and rotating the tip thereofso that the tips are entirely subjected to the melting action of theflames from the openings in the burner tube, means for simultaneouslyoperating said rotary disk and sealing mechanism in synchronism andmeans for discharging the ampules from the disk after. passage throughthe sealing mechanism.

3. An automatic ampule sealing machine comprising a casing, having acircular opening in the top thereof, a rotary drive disk, having a,plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed ampule receiving openingsformed therethrough, mounted in said opening for moving a plurality ofampules in a predetermined path of travel, an ampule tip sealingmechanism mounted on said casing in overlying relation with the ampulereceiving openings in the disk and positioned in the path of travel ofampules retained in the openings, means for vertically and horizontallyadjusting said sealing mechanism relative to the disk, an arcuate burnerunit mounted on the top of the casing and disposed concentric to thedisk, said burner unit having a plurality of lateral openings directedtoward and above the disk for heating the tips of the ampules as theyare moved toward the sealing mechanism, means for supporting said.burner unit in adjusted vertical and longitudinal posi tions,resiliently anchored means laterally disposed in the path of travel ofthe ampules for frictionally engaging the lower portion of each ampuleand successively rotating the ampules to subject the entire portions ofthe tips thereof to the action of flames emanating from the openings inthe burner unit, means for simultaneously operating said rotary disk andsealing mechanism in synchronism and means for discharging the ampulesfrom the disk after passage through the sealing mechanism.

4. An automatic ampule sealing machine comprising a casing having acircular opening in the top thereof, a rotary drive disk, having aplurality of spaced circumferentially disposed ampule receivingopenings, mounted in said opening for moving a plurality of ampules in apredetermined path of travel, a pair of vertically disposedcomplementary sealing rolls mounted on the casing and disposed in thepath of travel of the ampules, means for adjusting said rolls relativeto the disk, a burner unit horizontally mounted in adjustable positionsin the casing and disposed concentric to the disk, a resiliently biasedmember transversely fixed in the path of travel of the ampules forfrictionally engaging and individually rotating the ampules so that thetips thereof are entirely subjected to the heating action of the burnerunit and means for simultaneously and continuously rotating the disk androlls in sychronism.

5. The combination of claim 2, wherein said adjusting means for thesealing mechanism includes a vertically disposed support mounted on thecasing adjacent the opening, a vertical operating member journalled insaid support, a horizontally disposed block, having a guide channeltherein, carried by said operating member and an adjusting blockslidably mounted in the channel, a pair of juxtaposed rolls dependingfrom said adjusting block and cooperatively disposed in the path oftravel of the ampules.

6. The combination of claim 5, wherein said rolls are provided with gearends in meshing engagement and rotatably mounted in the adjusting block,a drive shaft extending from said casing, a drive transmitting membercarried by said shaft and operatively associated with said gear ends.

7. The combination of claim 2, wherein said plate ..for projectingthesame'into the path 0? travel-.-and :enabling the plate to bewithdrawnupon engagement thereby :of the ampules.

ANDREW a F; *PISZEL REF RENOE$ CITED The fqllowing references are ofrecprd in the file of $1115 patent;

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